Charles r



(No ModelJ C. R. MGG'IMSEY. ILLUMINATBD ADVERTISING SIGN.

PatentedJuly 5, 1892.

l||| lylllllll IN VE NTOH W/ TNE SSE S QZ%%M ATTOIIYNEYS NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES R. MOGIMSEY, OF NEW YORK,-N. Y.

lL'LUMINATED'AD VERTISING- SIGN.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No.4'78,204, dated July 5, 1892.

' Application filed June 2, 1891. Serial No. 394,830. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. MCGIMSEY, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Illuminated Advertising- Signs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvementin illuminated advertising-signs, and has for its object to provide an attractive and novel sign of simple, durable, and economic construction, comprising a casing and illuminating mechanism emitting a steady or an intermittent light, as desired, and a stencil advertisement or notice backed with transparent, colored, and removable material, said transparent material having a backing of translucent material, whereby the matter upon. the

stencil will appear in illuminated colors without disclosing the mechanism withi n the easing. I

The invention consists in, ie novel construction and combination f the several parts, as will be hereinafter ully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved sign. Fig. 2 1s a central vertical section through the sign, in which the light is an intermittent one and the stencil appears at one end only; and Fig. 3 is a section similar to that shown in Fig. 2, the light, however, contained in the casing being a steady one and a Stencil advertisement appearing at both en s. t

In carrying out the invention a casing A is employed, which may be made of any desired shape. Preferably, however, the casing is made circular or cylindrical, as illustrated.

The casing is ordinarily open at both of its ends, and said ends are closed through the medium of two caps A and A which caps may be screwed upon the casing or simply slid thereon and maintained in position by frictional contact. If the casing is adapted to show but a single advertisement, one cap onlyas, for lnstance, the cap Areceives an advertisement, as shown in Fig. 2. In this event the front of the cap A consists, primarily, of a glass pane 10, and the interior of the cap in front of the pane is recessed to form an annular shoulder 11. Against the shoulder 11 the marginal portion of the stencil12 has a bearing, the stencil corresponding in shape to the shape ofthe cap and neatly fitting within it.

The stencil 12 is made of any suitable material and is opaque. Theletters and characters of the sign or advertisement, as the name of the plate implies, are cut in the plate, so that the said letters and characters extend through from face to face,forming an opening,asshown in Fig. 1. The stencil may also be provided with a border or with other ornamentation as, for instance, scroll-workprodueed in like manner to the letters and characters. The back of the stencil may be entirely covered by a single sheet of colored transparent material, the material employed being zylonite,

celluloid, or the equivalents thereof, made in very thin and light sheets, or, as shown in the drawings, each line, paragraph, or sentence, and likewise the border or sections of the border, may be made to appearin different colors,

in which event the transparent colored sheets 13are cut in suitable sizes to cover particular or predetermined sections or portions of the advertising matter, border, and ornaments.

In order that the mechanism in the interior of the casing may be rendered invisible from the end carrying the stencil-sign, a sheet 14 of a translucent material, said material being also celluloicl,'zylonite, or its equivalent, is made to engage with the back of the transparent material, and ordinarilythe translucent material is held in position by clamping it between the shoulder 11 of the cap and the flange 15, formed upon the end of the casing, upon whichthe cap is secured, the said flange being located upon the inner side of the casing.

The transparent colored material may be 5 attached to the stencil-sign in any suitable or approved manner. Preferably, however, it is so secured that it may be readily removed, and one means of accomplishing this result is to secure the strip or strips of colored and transparent material to the back of the stencil-sign by strips of paper, muslin, or the equivalent thereof, pasted or otherwise' socured to the colored material and to theback of the stencil-sign. hen a single sign-face only is employed for the advertising device, an essentially-conical reflector 16 is located Within the casing, the flaring or base portion whereof is attached to and bears against the flange 15 of the casing, and at the contracted portion of the conical reflector a reflector 17 may be located, if so desired, which lens is preferably removably secu red to the reflector, and when employed the reflector properis open at its contracted end, the lens covering such opening. Through the bottom portion of the reflector an illuminating medium-as, for instance, an electric lamp 18--is introduced, the bulb of the lamp being located in front of the reflector 17, and in order that access may be readily gained to the lamp an opening 19 is made in the upper portion of the reflector and is covered by a suitable door, sliding or hinged. 1f the light is to be an intermittent one, the key 20 of the lamp is connected with a time mechanism 21. This mechanism preferably consists of a spring'motor, which may be made to drive a spur-gear 22, the said gear having pivoted upon its face one end of a link 23, the opposite end of the link being pivotally attached in a slot of the key 20 of the lamp. Thus during the revolution of the gear 22 the circuit of the light will be opened and closed alternately, thus causing the light to flash at intervals.

Access may be gained to any portion of the mechanism by removing the caps A and A of the casing.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated What may be termed a double advertising device, in which the advertisement is located at each end of the casing, and in this event each cap is constructed in the identical manner as is the cap A heretofore described and the stencilsign, the transparent colored material, and the translucent material are secured in the same manner in the caps. The interior mechanism of the casing differs only in that two reflectors 16 are employed, their contracted ends being preferably placed face to face, and each of the contracted ends is ordinaril y made with an opening containing alens 24, and the light or illuminating medium is located between the lenses. In Fig. 3 an electric lamp is also illustrated as the illuminating medium; but the said lamp is arranged to emita steady or uniform light.

It is evident that an advertising device constructed as above described is exceedingly simple and economic and that for purposes of advertising at night it will he exceedingly effective and attractive.

The device may be suspended by means of cables, ropes, links, or other devices, or may be placed upon a suitable base, as in practice may be found most desirable.

As the reflector rests against the shoulder 15, the front cap and its parts may be removed, When necessary, without interfering with the reflector, which may be wiped and cleaned through the open end of the case. The lampmotor, being behind the reflector, may be attended to whenever necessary from the rear end of the case without having to remove the front cap.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. An advertising-sign comprising an inclosing frame or case having an advertising device in one end, an electric lamp in the case and provided with a key, and a motor inclosed within the case or frame and connected with the key to make and break. the circuit, substantially as set forth.

2. An advertising-sign comprising the casing having an advertising device in one end, a reflector 16, closing the case in rear of the sign, an electric lamp 18, extending through the reflector, with its key 20 behind said reflector, and a motor also in the casing, concealed behind the reflector and having alink connection 23 with the lamp-key, substantially as set forth.

CHARLES R. MCGIMSEY.

itnesses:

J. FRED. ACKER, E. M. CLARK. 

